Rangers of the North - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Anardil · 01-26-2003, 10:52 PM

Sorry for digging up an old topic here, but there are many details about the Rangers of the North that I have long wondered about.

1. Where did the Rangers live? We are told that they were "a secret and wandering people", which seems to imply that many of them would never live long in a single place. Of course, they must have had at least one or two permanent secret bases, otherwise where would they keep their women and raise their children? This thread mentions a "secret fastness" somewhere in the angle between the Hoarwell and Loudwater. Does anyone know more about this?

2. It is clear that many of the inhabitants of Eriador were familiar with the Rangers (e.g. the Bree-land folk), but how many of them knew who they really were? Did Sauron know?

3. It appears that the chief task and purpose of the Rangers was to guard and defend the land of Eriador against orcs, wolves and other enemies. In particular, they maintained a quasi-permanent guard on both the Shire and the Bree-land. Their last chieftain, Aragorn, seems to have spent most of his time travelling abroad and serving the rulers of Rohan and Gondor. Did he appoint a deputy to coordinate the defense of Eriador in his absence? Halbarad perhaps?

4. Clearly the Rangers had strong ties to the Elves of Rivendell, and to Elrond in particular. Indeed, we are told that "Arahael [son of Aranarth] was fostered in Rivendell, and so were all the sons of the chieftains after him". It seems however that an extra special job was done with Aragorn. Were Aragorn's skills (esp. healing) general knowledge among the Rangers, or did he learn them specifically from the Elves?

Any ideas?

01-26-2003, 10:52 PM	#19
Anardil Animated Skeleton Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 33	Sorry for digging up an old topic here, but there are many details about the Rangers of the North that I have long wondered about. 1. Where did the Rangers live? We are told that they were "a secret and wandering people", which seems to imply that many of them would never live long in a single place. Of course, they must have had at least one or two permanent secret bases, otherwise where would they keep their women and raise their children? This thread mentions a "secret fastness" somewhere in the angle between the Hoarwell and Loudwater. Does anyone know more about this? 2. It is clear that many of the inhabitants of Eriador were familiar with the Rangers (e.g. the Bree-land folk), but how many of them knew who they really were? Did Sauron know? 3. It appears that the chief task and purpose of the Rangers was to guard and defend the land of Eriador against orcs, wolves and other enemies. In particular, they maintained a quasi-permanent guard on both the Shire and the Bree-land. Their last chieftain, Aragorn, seems to have spent most of his time travelling abroad and serving the rulers of Rohan and Gondor. Did he appoint a deputy to coordinate the defense of Eriador in his absence? Halbarad perhaps? 4. Clearly the Rangers had strong ties to the Elves of Rivendell, and to Elrond in particular. Indeed, we are told that "Arahael [son of Aranarth] was fostered in Rivendell, and so were all the sons of the chieftains after him". It seems however that an extra special job was done with Aragorn. Were Aragorn's skills (esp. healing) general knowledge among the Rangers, or did he learn them specifically from the Elves? Any ideas?